Thin is in: Ars Technica reviews the MacBook Air

The MacBook Air has finally made its way into the hands of the earliest …

One of these things is not like the other

Here's what you can expect to find in the MacBook Air that's different than what you may be used to.

Thickness

News flash: the Air is pretty thin. It goes from 0.76 inches at its thickest point down to 0.16 inches. The MacBook, by comparison, is 1.08 inches thick (all the way around) and the MacBook Pro 1.0 inches thick.

Screen

The screen, however, is exactly the same size as the MacBook, at 13.3-inches measured across the (widescreen) diagonal. Unlike the MacBook, however, the Air's screen is LED-backlit, which is meant to cut down on power consumption, offer a brighter screen, and ultimately save the world. Or something like that, anyway. As I've mentioned in previous reviews, I have sensitive eyes and typically keep the brightness on the lowest notch—between the MacBook and the MacBook Air, the lowest brightness setting was about the same on both. But when you crank it up, the Air is clearly much brighter. Those of you who like bright screens and hate battery life should be thrilled.

The size of the screen is a huge point of debate among geekier circles, as some believe it disqualifies the MacBook Air from consideration as a "subnotebook." That's an argument for another article, but it's important to remember that everyone has different ideas as what, exactly, makes a notebook a subnotebook. For my purposes, a super-thin notebook with a MacBook-sized screen is exactly what I wanted. Anything smaller and I wouldn't be able to do any work on it—we're already pushing the lower limits here as it is. (And yes, I do real work on my MacBook all the time.) If I need something even smaller and more portable... that's what my iPhone is for.

One thing to note, however, is that even despite the relatively large screen, Apple chose not to reduce the footprint of the Air, and therefore it takes up the same amount of space on your desk (or lap, or airplane tray) as a MacBook. While this doesn't bother me personally, it seems a little strange, and the only explanation we can come up with is that Apple wanted to ensure there was a sufficient amount of space around the full-size keyboard. Needless to say, not everyone has the same thoughts on the footprint issue as I.

3 ports, 1 cup door

Have you ever found yourself frazzled and confused by all of those ports on the side of your computer? Worry not, as Apple has done its part to dissipate your confusion by eliminating nearly all of them! Instead, the Air has a tiny door on its right side that flips open and exposes the only three ports Apple thinks you can't live without: an audio jack, a USB 2.0 port, and a micro-DVI port.

"What!? No FireWire?" That's what people said when Apple eliminated FireWire from the iPod too, but most of us have gotten over it by now. Yes, it sucks. Yes, we will move on. If you frequently find yourself importing raw video, why the heck are you thinking about buying a MacBook Air anyway?

Some have observed that the Air's little door with closely-crammed ports doesn't exactly make for a welcoming environment if you have anything but the sleekest of headphone cords and the more svelte of USB devices. It's true. A pair of Sennheiser headphones we had laying around the house won't plug into this thing without an adapter, nor will some of the bulkier USB EVDO cards. For example, some Sprint EVDO modems won't fit; some Franklin Wireless ones will. My Logitech USB Skype headset didn't fit into the port, which of course, I first discovered the moment I needed to use it the most. Pick and choose your peripherals wisely. That, or stock up on extension cables.

The keyboard... it's alive!

Unlike the MacBook—and like the MacBook Pro—the Air has a backlit keyboard. This is an odd feature for Apple to include, since the Air mirrors the MacBook much more than the Pro (hence why it's not called the MacBook Pro Air, or something along those lines), and the backlit keyboard has always been reserved for the Pro line. Still, it's a welcome addition for me personally, as it was the one feature I regretted giving up when switching from my 15" MacBook Pro to a 13" MacBook (that's right, it wasn't the screen).

The keyboard is also a full-size keyboard, a feature which Apple is quite proud of—and mentions at every opportunity. It's not cramped, and although there is no dedicated number pad, it's pretty spacious for a laptop keyboard. Typing on it is delightful, as long as you're like me and you like the Chiclet-style keyboard that barely makes any noise. If you like all that clicky stuff, well, you already stopped buying Apple notebooks long ago.

However, Apple did rearrange a few things on the Air's keyboard that are still throwing me for a loop (it should be noted that this rearranged keyboard first appeared in the Santa Rosa MacBook update from last fall). For one, Apple redefined a number of its function keys. What used to be the Exposé button (F9) and Dashboard (F12) are now directly mapped to (and pictured on) the F3 and F4 keys. F10, F11, and F12 and now for controlling the volume, functions which used to be on F3 and F4. F10 and F11 still highlight the current window and show the desktop, respectively, but only if you hold down the function key while hitting them.

Does this all sound confusing yet? It is, especially if you're a longtime Mac user and have these key behaviors ingrained into your DNA. It's going to be difficult getting used to the remapped function keys, but like the missing FireWire port, I'm sure we'll all get over it eventually.

Trackpad

The MacBook Air's trackpad has been widened considerably compared to Apple's other notebooks, and it's widely rumored that this monster trackpad will be making its debut in the MacBook and MacBook Pro within the next few months. What's the purpose of this giant trackpad? For one, it gives you more room to... track. But more importantly, it allows for multitouch gestures. That's right—the Air is the first Mac to support multitouch within the OS, although the only real place you can use it so far is when manipulating photos (have some fun pinching and rotating in iPhoto). I honestly can't say I've really used the multitouch capabilities much yet except for fun, but I enjoy the wider trackpad.

The mouse button below the trackpad has been reduced in thickness, although I haven't noticed it making any difference in my own use. I tend to keep one thumb on the button at all times and use my index and middle fingers to navigate, so I never lose track of the button.

MagSafe power adapter

As is the case with all Intel-based notebooks from Apple, the Air comes with a MagSafe power connector that attaches with the magic of magnets. This is for accident protection—how many times have we all had clumsy roommates, children, pets, or (hey, let's admit it) MacBook owners trip over the power cord, yanking our laptops off of whatever surface they were on? Some of you Internet hotshots might like to claim never, but the Ars staff experiences (and our inboxes) say otherwise. MagSafe has been a lifesaver to many of us since Apple introduced it to its notebook line.

But don't go thinking that you'll be able to (easily) use your other MagSafe connectors with the Air. The MacBok Air's MagSafe is specially designed to nestle just under the lip of the machine on the left side while not coming into contact with any flat surface below it.

In contrast, a MagSafe built for a MacBook or MacBook Pro is designed to stick straight out from the side of the machine. The male side of an "old" MagSafe connector might technically fit into the female side of the Air, but you won't be able to use it that way for very long because of how it is angled.

Old MagSafe on the Air

New MagSafe on old MacBook

The undeniably good thing about the new MagSafe, however, is that since it's tucked away and more flush with the machine itself, it's much harder to accidentally knock out of place. As those who frequently use their notebooks on their laps, a couch, a bed, or any other soft and uneven surface knows by now, the old MagSafe could be easily unattached if it was pushed against, for example, your leg at just the wrong angle. Thankfully, this is no longer a problem—I used it effortlessly while flopped on the bed or couch, or while attempting to balance the Air on my lap with one or more cats attempting to squeeze underneath.

Speaker

The MacBook Air only has one speaker (compared to the two that are provided on both the MacBook and the MacBook Pro), and it's hidden directly underneath the arrow keys instead of above the keyboard. While its sound quality isn't exactly the best, it is fairly loud. Louder than the MacBook's speakers anyway.

Optical drive, and the lack thereof

As mentioned on the first page, there is no optical drive in the MacBook Air. This is the first Apple laptop since the era of the PowerBook 1400 and 2400 to lack such a drive, although it's not terribly uncommon for non-Apple subnotebooks to lack an optical drive. Apple does, however, sell a $99 external SuperDrive that connects via USB, one that is apparently tied to the MacBook Air (you cannot use it on other machines). But if you're not into buying and toting around other accessories, the MacBook Air has a new feature called Remote Disc. Through this software, MacBook Air users can install software and read optical disks over WiFi from another computer in the house. This is the same way you would reinstall the operating system through the MacBook Air-specific discs included in the box—insert it into your family iMac, for example, fire up Remote Disc on the Air, and do it remotely.

This sounds pretty cool, right? Well, it is, but it would be a lot cooler if it wasn't so limited. For one, Remote Disc requires you to install software on the computer(s) that you plan to use to host the discs, and that software comes from the MacBook Air's install disc and nowhere else (the software is, however both Mac OS X- and Windows-compatible). So, if you happen to find yourself traveling and you need to install something from a CD or DVD, you're probably out of luck. For example, I have the Remote Disc software set up on all my machines at home, but as I write this, I'm hanging out in someone else's office on the other side of the city. What if I'd like to install Microsoft Office 2008 from a friend's office iMac? I'm out of luck—I left my MacBook Air's install disks at home.

But say you carry those things with you everywhere, you still won't be able to do a lot with it. You can't watch DVDs or listen to CDs over Remote Disc, and forget trying to rip or burn them remotely. According to Apple, you shouldn't want to do any of that stuff anyway—this is the digital age, man! Buy from iTunes! Ahem.

You can, however, boot remotely off a shared disc and browse the file contents of a data CD or DVD. The process goes like this: first, you install the Remote Disc software on the host computer, then reboot. Then you must change the settings on the host computer (in System Prefs) to share DVDs and CDs remotely, with an optional checkbox for asking permission first. On the Air, you can then see the Remote Disc in your devices sidebar under Leopard (at this point, you can read files and do whatever you want). To boot from a CD or DVD in another machine, the host computer must open Applications/Utilities/Remote Install OS X. You then need to shut down and start up the Air while holding down the Option key. From here, your hard drive is presented along with a drop-down to choose a wireless network. Choose the proper network, enter the password accordingly, and then the Remote Disc will show up. Only then can you can select it and boot remotely.